The Honey Badger has fallen off a bit since his elite (92.8 overall grade) 2015 season with the Arizona Cardinals, but the five-year veteran still can add value to the Texans’ defense as a play-making cornerback/safety hybrid. In 2017, Mathieu ranked fourth in pass-rush productivity (17.1) and 30th in yards allowed per coverage snap (0.93) among qualifying cornerbacks.

The Texans signed the 2013 third-round pick from LSU to a one-year deal worth $5 million. The plan is to keep Mathieu exclusively at safety as opposed to having him as a jack of all trades in the secondary.

“It’s been good because we communicated that and we talked about it, how he really just wanted to learn the ins and outs of the position,” Houston secondary coach Anthony Midget said on June 5 during the third week of organized team activities. “That’s good for me with a guy that’s been in the league this long of a time (who’s) still willing to learn and work on his craft.”

The Honey Badger has said publicly that the transition from the NFC West to the AFC South has been smooth, and calls the Texans coaches and front office staff “pleasant people.”

“I’m grateful and I’m blessed, but I haven’t put too much thought into it,” Mathieu said on May 22 during the first week of OTAs. “I’m just trying to handle my business. I wake up every day just trying to go to work and do what I need to get done, but I’ve been around some great guys, some good dudes in the locker room. Even the coaches and the upper management that I’ve had to deal with, they’ve all been pleasant people. I’d say my transition has been rather smooth.”

Mathieu earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2015 when he started 14 games for the Cardinals. New Orleans, La. native intercepted five passes, one which was returned for a touchdown, deflected 17 passes, forced a fumble, had 89 tackles, and even produced a sack. Houston is hoping to revive that production from the 26-year-old in a season where there is ambiguity on the back end.

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